Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Mental Training

After exchanging heartfelt camaraderie, not a single trainee dropped out until the end of the survival training.

After the four-day survival training, on the fifth day, normal meals were resumed.

But it wasn’t just meals; somehow, the training returned to the first day’s regimen after meals.

“Prepare for posture number fourteen!!”

“Aak!!”

After breakfast, they rolled their bodies, after lunch, they rolled their bodies, and after dinner.

It was time to take a brief rest and go to sleep.

“Everyone, please gather at the Grand Martial Hall!”

“Starting today, we will begin the final wartime training for three days. If you endure this training, I will apologize for what I said on the first day. After that, I will begin teaching you the ‘External Energy Training Method’ in earnest.”

Even though it was a dark hour, the trainees’ eyes lit up at Mu-jin’s words.

Now, only three days of this hellish training remained.

However, reflecting on the previous training, the trainees knew that the next three days would not be easy.

Mu-jin glanced at the trainees, who had mixed feelings of worry and anticipation, and explained the final training.

“In wartime situations, it is not strange for anything to happen! You must never let your guard down! For the next three days, you will repeat the training you have done so far without sleeping.”

The last training was what is commonly known as ‘Extreme Training Week’ in the Korean military.

Upon hearing Mu-jin’s explanation, most of the trainees sighed in relief inwardly.

The final training seemed easier than expected.

Although Mu-jin knew they were feeling relieved, he didn’t add any more words. He merely displayed a faint, unhidden smile.

Most of the Zhongnan Sect disciples, who had been solely focused on training and rarely stayed up all night, did not know how terrible it was to be deprived of sleep.

“Now, we will begin the night march!”

Starting a night march after having eaten three full meals and undergone morning and afternoon training.

After instructing the trainees to march, Mu-jin headed straight for the Zhongnan Sect’s main hall.

There was no special reason.

‘Going down the mountain, reaching the peak, and returning to Zhongnan will take over two hours.’

He intended to sleep for two hours.

Muscles grow and strengthen when they recover from being torn through exercise. And to recover, one must sleep.

In other words, not sleeping means muscle loss.

* * *

The Zhongnan Sect disciples were given rest after the night march.

However, sleep was not permitted.

Despite their bodies feeling like a thousand weights from the insane training they endured since morning, they were not allowed to sleep while resting.

It didn’t take long for them to realize how terrible this punishment was.

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Looking at the trainees with reddened, bloodshot eyes trying to fight their drooping eyelids, Mu-jin yawned loudly.

“Yaaawn. You can sleep if you want. If you want to get killed by a sword to your head while leisurely sleeping in a wartime situation, go ahead and sleep, idiots.”

“If those on guard duty fall asleep during their mission, causing the enemy to succeed in a night raid, all your senior brothers will die en masse. Those who sleep now are no different from committing the crime of family annihilation.”

“If you don’t care if your senior brothers die and just want to sleep because you’re so tired, step forward and ring the bell to announce that you’re a piece of trash, then lie down and sleep.”

Mu-jin’s alternating provocation and temptation made the already drowsy trainees struggle to stay awake.

Thus, the hellish night passed, and the morning sun rose.

“Alright. Let’s go have breakfast now.”

After breakfast, training resumed.

Physical training after staying awake for an entire day was on a completely different level than before.

Although the difficulty was the same, their bodies screamed in agony.

Ironically, this pain actually awakened their minds.

While the post-meal drowsiness made them feel like going insane, the physical pain woke them up from sleep.

The trainees began to think that if this wasn’t torture, what was.

In this way, the second day passed with both body and mind being worn down.

On the third and final day.

“Today, you can just sit and rest in the training hall.”

Mu-jin, who had leisurely slept to avoid muscle loss, appeared yawning widely.

“However, any trainee who falls asleep will be considered a worm and expelled from the mountain.”

Having not slept for two days and pushed to their physical limits, the trainees knew how incredibly hard it was to stay awake while just sitting.

Naturally, one by one, the trainees’ eyelids began to droop. This was not a matter of willpower but a basic survival instinct of the body.

And whenever that happened, Mu-jin’s harsh reprimands erupted.

“Will you let your comrade fall asleep in the middle of the enemy camp! Are you going to let them be captured, tortured, and killed!”

At Mu-jin’s shout, the trainees nearby would begin to violently shake the sleeping ones.

“Wake up!”

“You must not sleep, senior brother!”

Those who had fallen into the sweet slumber of a moment let out harsh groans as they woke up to sudden pain.

“Aaaagh.”

“Hey! Who’s making such a loud noise in the enemy camp!”

The awakened trainees snapped out of it at Mu-jin’s scolding and looked around with fierce eyes.

‘Just let one of them get caught!’

They couldn’t just be the ones to get hit and end it.

Thus, a beautiful camaraderie unfolded in the Grand Martial Hall once more.

“Wake up!”

Smack!

“Senior brother! You must not die!”

“Aaargh!”

“I wasn’t sleeping! I wasn’t sleeping, I swear!!”

“Hey! Who’s being so loud in the enemy camp!”

Thanks to Mu-jin’s continuous reprimands, a fierce battle of wits began in the Grand Martial Hall.

The Zhongnan Sect disciples, whose eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, looked around, hoping to catch someone, anyone.

And then, in the blink of an eye.

Smack!

“Ugh!!”

A punch came out of nowhere, striking their cheeks, sides, and the back of their heads.

Experiencing a sweet moment of sleep and then waking up to harsh pain, the trainee would retaliate by hitting the person next to them, creating a beautiful cycle of vengeance.

Mu-jin watched the chaos unfold with a satisfied smile.

‘Yes. This is true camaraderie.’

Relationships between people are not built on just fondness.

Relationships formed solely on fondness are at risk of breaking at the slightest upset.

But relationships built on both fondness and resentment rarely break.

* * *

In the survival and extreme training, the Zhongnan Sect trainees endured and shared beautiful camaraderie.

Not a single trainee dropped out.

Mu-jin sent the Zhongnan Sect disciples back to their dormitories just as the hour of the Rat (11 PM – 1 AM) was turning into the hour of the Ox (1 AM – 3 AM).

It was the announcement that the hellish final training had ended.

The Zhongnan Sect disciples, who had endured three days without sleep, collapsed into deep slumber the moment they entered their dormitories.

The next day, around noon, Mu-jin, who had allowed them to skip the morning training to sleep, gathered the Zhongnan Sect disciples in the Grand Martial Hall.

The trainees gathered in the training hall all bore bruises on their faces and bodies.

Of course, these were the marks of the scuffles they had during the extreme training.

Despite their ridiculous appearance, the eyes of the Zhongnan Sect disciples were sharp and full of energy.

Standing on the platform and facing the sharp-eyed disciples, Mu-jin and the class leader bowed their heads.

“I apologize for saying on the first day that you were unworthy of the Great Zhongnan Sect.”

Having driven them like dogs for the past three weeks, bowing once wasn’t a difficult thing to do.

Raising his head, Mu-jin continued with a satisfied face.

“I am moved by your perseverance. Those who endured the hellish training are undoubtedly worthy to be called swordsmen of the Great Zhongnan Sect.”

At Mu-jin’s words, pride spread across the faces of the sharp-eyed Zhongnan Sect disciples.

The training had been insane, but now that it was over, they felt a sense of accomplishment.

Who else could have endured the training they went through?

Having endured such hardships, they felt there was nothing they couldn’t do, as their faces showed.

Their faces radiated pride and confidence, and Mu-jin added.

“What moved me the most wasn’t each of you individually! It was that, true to the name of the Great Zhongnan Sect, you accomplished this without a single dropout! This achievement was not something you could have done alone! It was because of the senior brothers and comrades you trained with!”

At Mu-jin’s shout, the Zhongnan Sect disciples looked around at their comrades.

Mu-jin was right.

When their bodies reached their limits, they pushed and pulled each other, and when their patience reached its limits, they punched each other to stay awake.

If they had been alone, they wouldn’t have endured.

Even if it was difficult alone, with these comrades and senior brothers, nothing seemed impossible.

Their sharp eyes, straightened shoulders, upright necks, and expressions all showed pride and confidence.

And the intense camaraderie for their fellow comrades. They truly embodied the spirit of soldiers.

‘Mental training seems sufficient.’

Looking at the Zhongnan Sect disciples, Mu-jin nodded to himself.

* * *

That evening.

Five Zhongnan Sect disciples visited Mu-jin’s quarters.

“What brings you all here?”

Mu-jin

wondered, as the mental training was over and he had instructed everyone to rest. They had no reason to come looking for him.

‘Could they be here for revenge?’

It was possible they had come for revenge for all the torment he had put them through now that the training was over.

As Mu-jin prepared himself, one of the five disciples stepped forward.

It was Byeok-hwan, who had participated the most enthusiastically in Mu-jin’s training.

“Actually, since we have a day of rest today, we five were thinking of having a small drinking party in Janganhyeon, and we thought it would be nice if the instructor could join us.”

“There’s no need to call me instructor anymore since the training is over. But a drinking party?”

At Mu-jin’s question, Byeok-hwan laughed heartily and answered.

“Hahaha. In Zhongnan, we are allowed to drink and eat meat on special occasions. And the end of three weeks of grueling training is certainly a special occasion, isn’t it?”

He even explained that they had obtained permission from Baekun Zhenren, the sect leader.

Since it would be a problem if nearly two hundred disciples went down in groups, they were allowed to go first for the celebration.

Hearing this, Mu-jin couldn’t help but feel his fists tremble.

‘Damn Shaolin!!’

How wonderful it is to be in harmony with the mundane world! Shaolin should learn from them.

Despite his complaints about Shaolin, it was a very tempting offer.

‘I was getting tired of eating just what was provided in Zhongnan.’

Even though Zhongnan allowed minimal meat consumption, the basics were still vegetarian.

As a result, he had to rely on that nauseating protein supplement to get enough protein every day.

“Hahaha. A drinking party with the heroes of Zhongnan? I have no reason to refuse.”

Mu-jin gladly accepted Byeok-hwan’s invitation.

‘But I’ll stay cautious just in case.’

There was always the chance they might try to get revenge by getting him drunk first.